External aircraft light systems may include various lights used during taxiing, takeoff, approach and landing for the purpose of illuminating an area around the aircraft for visibility for the pilot and aircraft conspicuity. The external light systems may include taxi lights, runway turnoff lights, takeoff lights, landing lights, anti-collision lights, navigation lights, ice detection lights, emergency lights, cargo lights, logo lights and/or novelty lights, among other lights. Taxi lights and runway turnoff lights may be used for aircraft travel while on the ground, for example, when taxiing to and from a gate and a runway. Takeoff lights may be used as the aircraft accelerates and takes off, while landing lights may be used during approach and touchdown.
Commercial aircraft typically employ dedicated landing lights, takeoff lights, taxi lights and runway turnoff lights, which may each use one or more incandescent or halogen lamps. Halogen and incandescent lighting may have a short operational life and are relatively inefficient in terms of lumen output per unit of power consumed. The mounting space on an aircraft occupied by these headlights and the associated wiring is limited such that changing the size, shape or placement of the lamps may be cost prohibitive. Incandescent lamps used for aircraft headlights may not be readily replaceable with light emitting diode (LED) lamps, which have relatively lower light output compared to an incandescent lamp of a similar physical size. Further, increasing the light output of an LED light system by adding more lamps to an aircraft would add undesirable weight to the aircraft.